They're not required to; Ohio open meetings laws say public bodies only must give notice of where and when they’ll meet. Governments could simply post a City Council meeting notice on the door of City Hall.

But in this Internet age, government watchdogs urge cities to let the public know what exactly they'll be discussing -- and deciding -- at meetings. What contracts they plan to vote on. New laws they plan to enact. States such as New York and Illinois require cities to post agendas online.

“Giving notice of meetings when [public officials] are going to be spending our money and making decisions about how our local jurisdictions are going to be governed is an important public function,” said Lucy Dalglish, dean of the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. “People can’t attend meetings and watch elected officials do the public’s business unless they are aware.”

To mark Sunshine Week later this month, reporters from Northeast Ohio Media Group and The Plain Dealer monitored the web sites of 44 Greater Cleveland municipalities each business day in February, to track how and when they post city council, committee and other meeting agendas.

Most cities posted city council agendas online, reporters found. Cities tended to be less vigilant in posting agendas for work sessions, when the whole council meets to discuss legislation without voting, and for committees, small groups of council members who discuss finance or recreation, for example.

Some cities, such as Middleburg Heights, skipped online posting altogether. Some, like North Olmsted, post only meeting notices online and email agendas to people who request them. Some, like Chagrin Falls, posted an agenda on the day of the meeting.

Reporters are working on full stories, detailing practices in each community. But first, we want to know your experience.

Have you had trouble discovering what your city council was discussing? Or do you worry that you're not given enough time to research contracts under consideration? Let us know in the comments section. And let us know what questions you have.

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